Good morning. Let me begin by thanking you all for being here today at the inauguration of the exhibition "The new face of the euro", and particularly Yves Mersch, the European Central Bank Executive Board member, who has kindly joined us at the opening, on one of his first visits to a Member State following his recent appointment.

For the Banco de España it is gratifying to host this travelling exhibition on euro banknotes. Madrid is the first stop on the exhibition’s scheduled tour after it was first opened to the public for two months at the Frankfurt Archaeological Museum.

The exhibition is an excellent opportunity for people to get to know better the banknotes we have been using daily as a means of payment for 11 years.

As you will see, this carefully mounted exhibition offers not only very useful practical information but also interactive games and curious facts about the history of coins and banknotes, which I am sure will be of interest both to adults and to children just beginning to discover the meaning of money.

The timing of the exhibition is also of particular interest. First, more than a decade after euro notes and coins were put into circulation, the European Central Bank has decided to renew these banknotes, putting a second series into circulation under the fitting name of Europa. This series, which includes the most advanced security features and technology, will be launched on 2 May, when we can begin to use the first banknote of the new series, namely the new €5 note.

The new banknote series is being launched at a time when Europe is experiencing a complex phase in which, following a long period of expansion, many citizens are suffering the consequences of the lack of economic growth and the increase in unemployment. However, although sometimes this may be difficult, the current severe crisis should not make us lose sight of the enormous benefits of European integration for economic prosperity and stability in Europe.

In particular, for Spain, the euro has been an anchor of macroeconomic stability that boosted the development and modernisation of our country, raising it to the standards of the most advanced countries. At times of stress, the common currency has also been a shield protecting us from the many bouts of turmoil which have affected international markets since the beginning of this century.

Undoubtedly, our belonging to the single currency requires a continuous effort to uphold our commitments and achieve the flexibility and efficiency needed by our economy so as to remain competitive within a common monetary area which is increasingly integrated in commercial terms. However, I think that no one can reasonably defend that the efforts required to ensure economic prosperity could be less outside the monetary union.

That said, major challenges lie ahead for us in the European integration project, as has been made apparent during the crisis which began in 2010. If we have learned anything from this crisis it is that the only way to restore stability and growth, and to preserve the degree of integration achieved is to continue moving towards more Europe, without ever backtracking.

The banking union is a cornerstone of the overall strategy to strengthen the European Union. The first step towards the banking union is the adoption of a single supervisory mechanism, i.e. the assumption by the ECB of the supervision of the main banks of the euro area countries.

As you can imagine, this is an exciting initiative which the Banco de España, as part of the Eurosystem, is working on energetically to contribute to the start-up of the project. The organisational and logistical challenges are clearly considerable. However, we are fully confident that the joint work of the national and ECB authorities will ensure the success of the project, as they did in the past with the implementation of the common monetary policy and the replacement of national banknotes and coins by the euro 11 years ago.

And there is no one better to conclude this opening event than Yves Mersch, one of the ECB Executive Board members. Mr Mersch has a wealth of experience as a public servant and especially as a central banker. He has been a member, I would say an outstanding one, of the ECB's Governing Council since it was created in 1998, in his capacity as Governor of the Banque centrale du Luxembourg. Yves is responsible for some key areas at the ECB, such as banknotes, information systems and the coordination (together with Vítor Constâncio) of the preparations for the single supervisory mechanism.

Let me then welcome Yves Mersch. Yves, thank you very much for being here today in Madrid on your first visit to Spain as an ECB Executive Board Member.

ACCESS TO MY ACCOUNT

Log in

Feedback form

Feedback form for the download of materials

Please let us know how you intend to distribute our materials.

Use*

Other

Means of distribution*

Other

I would also like to request printed copies of this publication.**

Number copy*

A confirmation of the availability of the publications requested will be sent to the name and address indicated in your account. If you would like to send the publications to another address, please indicate this below.

Address (street and number)*

Address (postal code, city) *

* Required data** The publications are available free of charge from the ECB as long as stocks last.

Feedback form

Feedback form for the download of materials

Please let us know how you intend to distribute our materials.

Use*

Other

Means of distribution*

Other

* Required data

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

LETTER OF INTENT

We wish to use the electronic media and/or print media produced by the European Central Bank (ECB) to inform others. We declare that:
1. Any information or materials received from the ECB will be used for information purposes only.
2. We will not use the “€ OUR MONEY” logo for purposes that could be detrimental to the euro, or for commercial or advertising purposes, and we will adhere to the style guidelines provided in the Partnership Programme.
3. Any electronic materials, pictures, files or documents provided by the ECB will remain its sole property. The ECB will reserve its or third-party copyrights. We will not pass any information or materials received from the ECB to any third party, except for production purposes.
4. Should we use the original master files of materials prepared by the ECB, we will preserve the integrity of the text.
5. We pledge to follow the reproduction rules for euro banknotes and coins as published in the Official Journal of the European Union and available on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/banknotes/reproduction/html/index.en.html.
6. If we use electronic media online, we will include a link to www.new-euro-banknotes.eu and we will inform the ECB of the material used and where it has been used. We will forward the links.
7. We understand that stocks of ECB materials for distribution are limited. We will inform the ECB of the number of copies distributed, the means of distribution as well as the target groups.
On behalf of the company/institution mentioned above, we declare that we will refrain from using any materials either in printed or electronic form provided by the ECB until our membership of the Partnership Programme has been confirmed.
We will be liable for any damages incurred by the ECB should we not act in accordance with this Letter of Intent. We also understand that the ECB reserves the right to terminate our membership at any time.

DISCLAIMER

This privacy notice is made on behalf of the European Central Bank (ECB) and applies to Havas 360, its sub-contractors and all central banks referred to as data processors below.
When you fill in the form on the website http://www.new-euro-banknotes.eu/, we collect personal information directly from you in order to provide you with information on euro banknotes. Your data will be used only for that purpose. You cannot receive information if you do not complete the form.
We keep information on your activity with us and delete it after three years of inactivity. We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.
We use this personal information to deal with your request(s), manage your account and offer you other ECB publications.
We disclose this information to our sub-contractor CetSI and on a need-to-know basis to the relevant data processors.

A. Your choices

1) You have the right to see the information that we have about you and to get mistakes corrected by contacting Havas 360;
2) You have the right to delete your account with Havas 360.

B. Important

Your information is protected by European Union law. National data protection laws apply in relation to the technical and organisational security measures to be applied by the data processors mentioned below, unless the data processor is the ECB. Contact details for the European Data Protection Supervisor can be found at http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/bodies/supervisor/index_en.htm.

Data controllers may change this privacy notice from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page occasionally to ensure that you are satisfied with any changes. This privacy notice is effective from 22 November 2013.